A few days after the event, but well done Team Sky and Wiggo!! I read a comment on some newpaper article or other, where lots of people were saying what a great day for cycling: indeed, but for me it has been a revelation, because until about Thursday last week I never really cared about watching sport and never really new the names of any pros. Now I've read up on road racing, know a whole bunch of cycle pro names, and have actually rushed back from a ride (on Sunday) to get the result and settle down with a brew to watch the highlights show. What is happening!? My OH thinks it's a little strange, and I agree with him. But you'd have to be a real reason-free zone to not be amazed by the achievement of those guys over that time period. Anyone who rides a bike anywhere at all or for whatever reason will know just how far and how hard that kind of riding is. I mean if anyone could do it, there would have been no need to invent cars and we'd all be thinking nothing of 50+ mile commutes over the Pennines each day. But that kind of riding is in another league and we are in awe.
With all that going on, there is one thing missing though. Any ideas?? Well, the only coverage given to women was the boring Twitter spat between two cycle WAGS, apparently bitching about their husband's prowess (oh, grow up girls), but this -- as usual -- represent women as whining, bitching, blobs of over-styled pointlessness and detracts from the many strong, talented, and dedicated sportswomen who also ride hard, push their own boundaries, and achieve great things. The recent documentary about Victoria Pendelton shows just what we can achieve when we work hard and dedicate ourselves to things other than celebrity babies and hair extensions, but also reveals what a mountain we have to climb to feel accepted into areas of life that still feel very much like a mans' world.
And what about women's races? I have Googled about a bit and found evidence of.. well, just one so far. I'll keep searching, and will report my findings shortly. For now though, forget all my sniping about gender balance, and repeat after me... Allez Wiggo!!!
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